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HCTL Open International Journal of Technology Innovations and Research (IJTIR)

http://ijtir.hctl.org
Volume 15, May 2015
e-ISSN: 2321-1814, ISBN (Print): 978-1-62951-974-6

Design of a Bioreactor
Landfill for Delhi City
Aromal Thampan1, Avisek Mukherjee2
aromal.iitr@gmail.com

Abstract
In India, dumping grounds or landfill areas are mainly open low-lying areas in the cities.
The Municipal solid wastes consist of wastes from domestic, agricultural, commercial
sources and construction debris. Municipal solid waste is generally dumped in landfill
areas without segregating it into biodegradable and non-biodegradable. These organic
components in the municipal refuse results in methane formation under anaerobic
condition.
A Bioreactor landfill is a landfill where the decomposition of wastes occurs rapidly by
providing optimum moisture to the wastes, by recirculation of leachate. An overview of
the bioreactor landfill is studied in this paper. Further a bioreactor landfill is designed
for the municipal solid waste of Delhi city, taking into consideration of the existing
rules and regulations and the design and operational issues.

Keywords
Bioreactor landfill; Municipal solid waste; Methane; leachate; refuse; biodegradable;
anaerobic.

Introduction
Land filling of municipal solid wastes is the major means of waste management processes
practised in India. It has been concluded from early studies that a total of 4060 million
tons of Methane is emitted from landfills and old waste deposits worldwide, accounting for
approximately 1112% of the global anthropogenic methane emissions. This ranks
landfills third after rice paddies (60 million tons per year) and ruminant livestock (85
million tons per year [4]. Methane is regarded as one of the most important GHGs
because its global warming potential has been estimated to be more than 20 times of that
of carbon dioxide and atmospheric methane concentration has been increasing in the
range of 12% per year. [8].

1
2

Faculty Member, The ICFAI University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India.


Ph.D. Scholar, K.U. Leuven, Belgium.

Aromal Thampan, Avisek Mukherjee,


Design of a Bioreactor Landfill for Delhi City.

Page 1

HCTL Open International Journal of Technology Innovations and Research (IJTIR)


http://ijtir.hctl.org
Volume 15, May 2015
e-ISSN: 2321-1814, ISBN (Print): 978-1-62951-974-6

Method and Methodology


An Anaerobic Bioreactor landfill has been designed for a portion of the incoming
municipal solid wastes of Delhi city. The site has been selected and has been divided into
different phases. The active life of the landfill has been taken as 5 years and a post
closure period of 10 years. Each phase is taken as a year, and each phase has been
divided into 365 cells such that daily incoming wastes will be filled and covered daily. The
optimum moisture is maintained inside the cells by leachate recirculation. The leachate
collection system and a gas collection system (since it is an Anaerobic landfill, Landfill
gas is produced) have been designed carefully. Once a whole phase gets completed, the
final layer is laid and will be covered before the next phase gets started. While the waste
filling processes on 1st phase goes on, the construction of the liner system on phase 2
will be done simultaneously. The wastes here are segregated here before filling for
obtaining better organic content. Similarly the whole phases get completed and the land
fill goes for post-closure care. The landfill gas will be collected during the active life of the
landfill and will be almost negligible within 3 years of closure. The plan, section, and
layout of the landfill and infra-structure facilities provided in the landfill area are shown in
the paper.

Preliminary Data
In point of the view made in the introduction, a Bioreactor landfill has been designed in
this project for the Delhi city.

Site description
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory of Delhi, is the second most popular
metropolitan city of India after Mumbai. With a population of 16.3 million in 2011, it is also
the eighth most popular metropolitan city in the world. The annual mean temperature of
Delhi is 25 0C and the monthly mean varies from 13 0C to 32 0C. The average annual
rainfall is 750 mm with monsoon seasons ranging from June to September [8].

4000000
3000000
2000000

Days

1000000
0
1
47
93
139
185
231
277
323

Waste Generation

The quantity of municipal solid wastes generated in Delhi has been consistently rising
over the years. The total average waste generation is about 8000 tons per day. Land
filling is the main means of waste management in Delhi. At present there are 3 landfills at
Bhalaswa (7.2 hectare), Okhla (7.2 hectare) and Gazipur (28 hectare) in which the
Gazipur land fill site life span ends in 2014 [7]. The waste generation data is plotted for
Delhi as in figure below.

Cumulative
Wastes

Days

Figure 1: Waste Generation (Delhi)


Aromal Thampan, Avisek Mukherjee,
Design of a Bioreactor Landfill for Delhi City.

Page 2

HCTL Open International Journal of Technology Innovations and Research (IJTIR)


http://ijtir.hctl.org
Volume 15, May 2015
e-ISSN: 2321-1814, ISBN (Print): 978-1-62951-974-6

Basic data:
Location

Delhi

Waste Generation

8000 tons per day (As of year 2011 )

There are 3 landfills in Delhi, assuming equal distribution of waste. Therefore waste
reaching one landfill per day =
8000/3
=
2666.667 tons per day.
Design life

Active period = 5 years

Topography

Flat ground

Subsoil

Sandy silt up to 20m below ground surface,


underlain by bedrock

Water table

10m below ground surface

[1]

Contents

Pape
r

Textil
e

Leathe
r

Plasti
c

Meta
l

Glas
s

Percentag
e by
weight (%)

6.6

4.0

0.6

1.5

2.5

1.2

Ash,
Fine
earth &
other
51.5

Compos
table
matter
31.78

Table 1: Waste Composition of Delhi MSW [3].


Chemical formula of Municipal solid waste

C25H40O16N

Design
Estimation of Landfill Capacity
Current Waste generation per day,

8000 tons

Estimated Waste generation after 5 years, per day

10000 tons

Total waste generation in 5 years,


365*5*8000

(T)

0.5*365*5*(10000-8000)
=
16.425 * 106 tons.

Waste generation for one landfill

(T1)

T/3

5.475 * 106

T1/0.5

10.95 * 106

Total waste Volume,

(W)

tons.

(Vw)

(Density of Indian MSW = 0.5 t/m3)

Total Volume of Daily cover for 5 years, (Vdc) =


=

m3

0.1 * Vw
1.095 * 106

m3

Total volume required for components of liner system and of cover system (assuming 1.5
m thick liner system), (VC)
=
K * Vw
=
Aromal Thampan, Avisek Mukherjee,
Design of a Bioreactor Landfill for Delhi City.

0.125 * 10.95 * 106


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HCTL Open International Journal of Technology Innovations and Research (IJTIR)


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Volume 15, May 2015
e-ISSN: 2321-1814, ISBN (Print): 978-1-62951-974-6
=

1.369 * 106

m3

(For landfill height of 10-20 m, K value is taken as 12% of the total waste volume and for a
height of 10 m, K value can be taken as 25% (USEPA., 2010).
First estimate of landfill capacity,
liner and cover systems

(Ci)

Total waste volume + Volume of


(10.95 + 1.369) * 106

12.32 * 106

m3

Preliminary Design of Landfill Dimensions


Likely shape of landfill

Rectangular in plan
(Length: Width = 2:1) Primarily
above ground level, partly below
ground level

Area Restrictions

Nil

Possible maximum land filling height

10 m

Area Required

(12.32 * 106) / 10

12.32 * 105 m 2

780 m * 1560 m

Approximate plan dimensions

Assuming 30 % of the total area for infrastructural facilities other than land filling area,
Total Area required (Including infrastructural facilities) =

Total plan area of the site

1.3 * 12.32 * 105


=

16.016 * 105 m 2

895 m * 1790 m

The actual land filling section and plan is evaluated on the basis of the following
assumptions
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

4:1 side slope for the above-ground portion of the landfill.


2:1 side slope for the below-ground portion of the landfill.
Material balance for daily cover, liner and final cover material through excavation
at site.
Extra space around the waste filling area for infrastructural facilities [1].

Landfill Phases
Active life of landfill

5 years

Duration of one phase

one year

Number of phases

5. Each phase extends from base to final cover

Volume of one phase

Landfill capacity / 5

12.32 * 106 / 5

2.464 * 106 m 3

Aromal Thampan, Avisek Mukherjee,


Design of a Bioreactor Landfill for Delhi City.

Page 4

HCTL Open International Journal of Technology Innovations and Research (IJTIR)


http://ijtir.hctl.org
Volume 15, May 2015
e-ISSN: 2321-1814, ISBN (Print): 978-1-62951-974-6
Plan area of one phase

Number of daily cells

Volume of one phase / landfill height

350 m * 700 m

365

A single cell waste will be filled in a day. Thus by one year one whole phase gets
completed.
Volume of one cell

Volume of one phase / 365

6750.685 m2

Plan area of one cell on the basis of 2m lift of each cell


2

Volume of one cell /

3375.34 m2

42

84

(approx.)
Check:
Cell volume
m3

42* 84 *2

7056 m2 * 365 cells

2.575 * 106

Volume of
one phase
(approx.)

Landfill Infrastructure and Layout


i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.

A site fencing provided all around the landfill


Two computerized weighbridges at entry and exits, with office
An administrative office building
A site control office (portable cabin)
Access roads to the site having main roads and arterial roads all along the
periphery
Waste inspection and sampling facility at site
Equipment workshop and garage building
Vehicle cleaning facility within the workshop [2].

Design of Liner
A composite liner is the minimum requirement for a Bioreactor landfill. It may be a single
composite or a double composite liner. Here a single composite liner is provided for
design consisting of a Compacted Clay Liner (CCL) and a Geomembrane.
A composite liner consists of 2 components.
i.
ii.

A flexible membrane liner with a minimum of 30 mm or 60 mm if HDPE is used.


A compacted soil layer of at least 60 cm deep with sufficient hydraulic
conductivity.

Aromal Thampan, Avisek Mukherjee,


Design of a Bioreactor Landfill for Delhi City.

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HCTL Open International Journal of Technology Innovations and Research (IJTIR)


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Volume 15, May 2015
e-ISSN: 2321-1814, ISBN (Print): 978-1-62951-974-6

Figure 2: Composite Liner [1].


A hydraulic head of 30 cm or less should be maintained by the leachate collection system
within the landfill.

Design of Leachate collection system


The leachate collection and removal systems should be designed efficiently to collect,
remove and manage leachate [2]. In other words, this is the drainage system and is
located above the liner system. The peak leachate that will be drained out per day is
calculated, taking into account of the precipitation rate, the infiltration and the water loss
due to evaporation. The leachate collection pipes are designed for this discharge.

Moisture requirement
The incoming fresh municipal solid wastes will be having a moisture content of 10 % - 25
% by weight. For accelerated decomposition of waste in Bioreactor landfills, this moisture
content has to be increased to an optimum moisture content of 35 % - 45 % [12]. This
requirement is satisfied by the recirculation of leachate into the waste mass. Moreover the
recirculation is done by considering several factors during the lifetime of landfill. This
includes the total precipitation received, the losses such as evaporation and seepage etc.
Here the moisture content of the incoming waste is taken as 15 %.
The optimum moisture content for accelerated decomposition of waste

45%

So, each cell will be requiring additional 30% moisture which has to be supplied.

Precipitation data:
The average monthly rainfall precipitation data for Delhi from the year 1956 to 2000 was
collected.

Month
January
February
March
April
May
June

Mean Rainfall (mm)


18.9
16.6
10.8
30.4
29
54.3

Aromal Thampan, Avisek Mukherjee,


Design of a Bioreactor Landfill for Delhi City.

Standard Deviation
5
5
3
8
8
15
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HCTL Open International Journal of Technology Innovations and Research (IJTIR)


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Volume 15, May 2015
e-ISSN: 2321-1814, ISBN (Print): 978-1-62951-974-6

July
August
September
October
November
December

216.8
247.6
133.8
15.4
6.6
15.2

59
68
37
4
2
4

Table 2: 50 year Average Rainfall Data for Delhi [5].

Generation of Rainfall Probability model


If m is the mean rainfall and v the variance of monthly rainfall, assuming log-normal
distribution, a 30 days artificial rainfall data has been generated which comply with the
data given in the above table.
The computer program MATLAB has been used for the generation of the one year
cumulative data (single phase).
From the graph and the data, it is clear that the monsoon period for Delhi will be for four
month duration from June to September, during which a peak precipitation occurs. During
the monsoons, the moisture inside the landfill is well above the optimum moisture content
needed and therefore the recirculation can be avoided for the monsoon period.
A month or two after monsoon period may also be satisfied by the monsoon precipitation.
Here the cells which are filled after October, recirculation is needed.
From the rainfall data the graph for one year precipitation can be plotted as shown below:

600
400
200
0
1
62
123
184
245
306

Precipitation (mm)

Daily Rainfall
Data(mm)
Daily
Rainfall
Data(mm)

Time (Days)

Figure 3: Daily Rainfall Data


And the cumulative rainfall for the year can be plotted as in the figure below.

Aromal Thampan, Avisek Mukherjee,


Design of a Bioreactor Landfill for Delhi City.

Page 7

HCTL Open International Journal of Technology Innovations and Research (IJTIR)


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Volume 15, May 2015
e-ISSN: 2321-1814, ISBN (Print): 978-1-62951-974-6

30000
Days

20000
10000
0

Cumulative
Rainfall
data(mm)

1
42
83
124
165
206
247
288
329

Cumulative Rainfall

Cumulative Rainfall

Days

Figure 4: Cumulative Rainfall Data


Maximum percolation rate,
Coefficient of permeability for clay layer

0.022 gal/day/ft2

(1 gal/day/ft2 = 1 * 0.0408 m3/day.m2

0.022 * 0.0408

8.976 * 10-4 m 3/day. m2

(780 m * 350 m)

273000 m2

Maximum drainage for each pipe

8.976 *10-4 * 273000

219.912 m3 / day

219.912 / (24 * 3600)

2.5453 * 10-3 m 3 / second.

Drainage Area of one phase

In one phase 9 cells (approx.) can be arranged. Along each layer of cells one pipe will be
collecting the discharge. Therefore the above discharge can be drained out by 9 numbers
of pipes.
Diameter of HDPE pipes provided

40 mm, 9 Numbers

(HDPE = High Density Poly Ethylene)

Aromal Thampan, Avisek Mukherjee,


Design of a Bioreactor Landfill for Delhi City.

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HCTL Open International Journal of Technology Innovations and Research (IJTIR)


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Volume 15, May 2015
e-ISSN: 2321-1814, ISBN (Print): 978-1-62951-974-6

Recirculation of leachate

25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0

Water
Remaining
1
62
123
184
245
306

Moisture Remaining

Moisture level in a cell

Moisture
Required

Moisture required (whole year)

Figure 5: Moisture level in a cell (mm)


Moisture level inside the landfill keeps varying according to the precipitation received.
Recirculation has to be done when the moisture content inside goes below the optimum
moisture content (45%) required for accelerated decomposition. Here by plotting the
moisture within a cell as per the precipitation received for a whole year (mm), it can be
inferred that as the monsoons are on, the moisture inside is sufficient for controlling the
required moisture content. After the monsoons again when the moisture content becomes
below the optimum, recirculation has to be done to maintain it. This deficit can be known
by frequent monitoring of the landfill, with the help of monitoring systems.

Gas collection System


Since, the design is considered to be an anaerobic bioreactor, methane gas is produced
during the entire life of the landfill. The volume of methane generated for one tonne of
waste can be calculated by the chemical reaction:

So, CH4 produced per tonne of waste

344.2622 kg of CH4
waste generated.

/tonne of

688.52 tonnes / day

856.550 kg of CO2 / tonne of waste

Similarly, CO2 produced per tonne


of waste

generated
=

1713.1 tonnes / day

Therefore, the total mass of gas generated per day

688.52 + 856.550

2401.62

tonnes

day.

Aromal Thampan, Avisek Mukherjee,


Design of a Bioreactor Landfill for Delhi City.

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HCTL Open International Journal of Technology Innovations and Research (IJTIR)


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Volume 15, May 2015
e-ISSN: 2321-1814, ISBN (Print): 978-1-62951-974-6
(i.e. In a day almost 2500 tons of Landfill gas (LFG) will be produced.
Methane and Carbon di-oxide constitutes the major portion of LFG and other gases can
be
neglected for calculation).
So, the gas collection system should be designed to collect 2500 tonnes per day.

Cover Material
Cover material is an essential element of land filling operations. A daily cover material has
to be provided above the waste at the end of the day after each cell has been completed.
A daily cover of 30 cm of soil layer is provided for the design. Daily cover should ideally
be permeable to allow water to pass through thereby preventing ponding/perched water
build-up. The total volume of daily cover used up for this design would be approximately
1.095 * 106 m 3 of soil and for a single phase would be almost 219000 m3 of soil material.
Intermediate cover refers to placement of material (minimum 300mm if soil used)
for a period of time prior to restoration or prior to further disposal of waste. Intermediate
cover should significantly reduce rainfall infiltration. Here an intermediate cover of 60 cm
is provided.
Alternative Final Covers (AFCs) are best preferred for Bioreactor landfills. Since the
bioreactors need moisture, Alternative final covers can be designed and constructed in
such a way as to control all types of infiltrations as required by the landfill. During
monsoons also, this final covers can allow allowable infiltration as well as shut sown
infiltration if precipitation is too high [2].

Cover system Design


The cover system comprises of the following layers above the waste.
i.
ii.
iii.

A 0.60m thick gas collection layer comprising of gravel. (stone dust with no fines).
A 0.60m thick barrier layer. (sandy silt + 5 % bentonite)
0.30 m thick surface layer of local top soil for vegetative growth [6].

Environmental Monitoring System


Monitoring of Bioreactor landfills is one of the important process during the active life of
the landfill. Monitoring should be done frequently and efficiently for the active functioning
of the landfill. Ground water monitoring wells, gas monitors etc. should be installed.
Keeping the records of the liquid balance, both the liquid added and the amount of
leachate removed is critical. Also keeping record of the moisture content inside the landfill
is important. Technologically improved mechanical instruments can be installed at the site
for accurate monitoring of data. For example pressure transducers can be installed for
measuring the head on liner, which is an important parameter. Similarly moisture
sensoring instruments can also be installed which senses the status of moisture inside the
landfill. Trained or experienced labour should be employed at the landfill site, mainly for
data recording and monitoring.

Post Closure Care


The closure of a landfill begins with the installation of final covers. Once a phase is
completed, the final cover will be placed over it and the phase will be shut down before
the next phase is started. Regular monitoring and record keeping is to be continued for a
closed phase or a landfill until it is made sure that it will no longer affect the environment
Aromal Thampan, Avisek Mukherjee,
Design of a Bioreactor Landfill for Delhi City.

Page 10

HCTL Open International Journal of Technology Innovations and Research (IJTIR)


http://ijtir.hctl.org
Volume 15, May 2015
e-ISSN: 2321-1814, ISBN (Print): 978-1-62951-974-6
in any means. Ground water monitoring, quality of leachate, amount of gas produced etc
has to be constantly monitored during the post closure period. The post closure period for
Bioreactor landfills can be reduced immensely compared to a dry convectional landfill due
to its accelerated decomposition and stabilization of the waste mass.

Figure 6: Plan of the Bioreactor Landfill

Figure 7: Leachate Collection system

Conclusion
The Bioreactor landfills are successful in gaining attention in the field of Solid Waste
Management and are becoming a next level to the engineered sanitary landfills. The
potential for these landfills for accelerated waste stability and the time for land recovery
are the view points. A Bioreactor landfill can stabilize the whole waste within 5-10 years
compared to 30-60 years in case of convectional landfills. For a developing country like
India, where population growth is far beyond controlling, and availability of land is a big
issue, the implementation of Bioreactor landfills can really help in the land controlled and
an efficient Waste Management system.
An Anaerobic Bioreactor landfill is designed here according to Indian waste conditions for
Delhi, for the year 2011 data. It shows that the total area required for land filling of the 1/3
rd of the total waste of Delhi (incoming waste to this landfill) is around 12.32 * 105 m 2.
Almost 2500 tonnes of landfill gas per day can be generated from this system. A single
composite liner of thickness 1.5 m, consisting of a compacted clay liner (60 cm) and a
geomembrane (40-80 mm) is provided for the design. The total volume of material
required for cover material would be around 1.095 * 106 m 2. All necessary infrastructures
are also provided and the total area of landfill including infrastructural facilities would be
Aromal Thampan, Avisek Mukherjee,
Design of a Bioreactor Landfill for Delhi City.

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HCTL Open International Journal of Technology Innovations and Research (IJTIR)


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Volume 15, May 2015
e-ISSN: 2321-1814, ISBN (Print): 978-1-62951-974-6
approximately 16.016 * 105 m 2.

Figure 8: Layout of the Bioreactor Landfill

References
[1]

Warith, M.A. (March 2003), Solid Waste Management ; New Trends in Landfill
Design, Emirates Journal for Engineering Research, Vol 8, Issue 1, pp. 61-70.

[2]

Aromal Thampan; Munish Kumar Chandel, Biomethanation of Municipal Solid Waste,


HCTL Open International Journal of Technology Innovations and Research (IJTIR),
Volume 15, May 2015, eISSN: 2321-1814, ISBN (Print): 978-1-62951-974-6.

[3]

Aromal Thampan; Munish Kumar Chandel, Experimental Analysis on Anaerobic


Digestion of Municipal Solid Waste, HCTL Open International Journal of Technology
Innovations and Research (IJTIR), Volume 15, May 2015, eISSN: 2321-1814, ISBN
(Print): 978-1-62951-974-6.

[4]

American Gupta, S., Choudhary, N., and Alappat, B.J. ( September 2007),

Bioreactor Landfill for MSW Disposal in Delhi, Proceedings of the International


Conference on Sustainalbe Solid Waste Management, pp. 474-481.
[5]

Interstate Technology Regulatory Council, ITRC. (February 2006),


Characterization, Design, Construction and Monitoring of Bioreactor Landfills,
www.itrcweb.org

Aromal Thampan, Avisek Mukherjee,


Design of a Bioreactor Landfill for Delhi City.

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Volume 15, May 2015
e-ISSN: 2321-1814, ISBN (Print): 978-1-62951-974-6
[6]

International Journal of Life Sciences Biotechnology and Plasma Research,


IJLBPR, (January 2012), Vol 1, No. 1, pp. 2250-3137.

[7]

Lelieveld, J., Crutzen, Paul. J., and Dentener, Frank. J., Changing concentration,
lifetime and climate forcing of atmospheric methane., Tellus (1998), 50B, PP.128

150.
[8]

National Data Centre., 2011, ndc@imdpune.gov.in

[9]

Ministry of Urban Development , Chapter 17 : Landfills,


www.urbanindia.nic.in/publicinfo/swm/chap17.pdf

[10]

Report of the APO Survey on Solid-Waste Management 200405. Solid Waste


Management: Issues and Challenges in Asia., APO 2007, ISBN: 92-833-7058-9.

[11]

Ritzkowski, M., and Stegmann, R. (2010), Generating CO2-credits through landfill


in situ aeration, Waste Management, Vol 30, Issue 4, pp. 702-706.

[12]

US EPA report. September 2008, Background information document for updating


AP42 Section 2.4 for estimating emissions from municipal solid waste land fills.

[13]

United States Environmental Protection Agency, USEPA. ( July 2009),


Assessment of Landfill Gas Project feasibility at the Okhla and Puducherry
Landfills,

[14]

United States Environment Protection Agency, USEPA. (2010), Landfill Manuals :


Landfill Site Design, www.epa.ie

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
2015 by the Authors. Licensed by HCTL Open, India.

Aromal Thampan, Avisek Mukherjee,


Design of a Bioreactor Landfill for Delhi City.

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